


Remove the Rough Edges

by starsdontsleep



Category: Inception (2010)
Genre: Happy Ending, Implied Sexual Content, Kissing, M/M, Miscommunication, Misunderstandings, Pining, Resolved Sexual Tension
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-08
Updated: 2020-10-08
Packaged: 2021-03-07 16:27:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,842
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26890654
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/starsdontsleep/pseuds/starsdontsleep
Summary: The first time Arthur and Eames had sex, it was after a job where everything possible had gone wrong.
Relationships: Arthur/Eames (Inception)
Comments: 3
Kudos: 74





	Remove the Rough Edges

The first time Arthur and Eames had sex, it was after a job where everything possible had gone wrong. 

The dream had ended in gunshot wounds, shouted accusations and anger. They’d gained the information they'd wanted, but only just. They’d left the mark sleeping and oblivious to their extraction. Everyone was fuelled with too much adrenaline and frustration.

When Arthur had shown up at Eames’ hotel room door, the forger had looked surprised. When Arthur had pushed his way inside and kicked the door shut, Eames had asked with a harsh edge to his smile.

“To what do I owe the pleasure, Arthur?”

“Nothing about this job has been a _pleasure_ , Eames.”

If Eames had planned to say anything, Arthur had made sure to cut it off with a harsh kiss. Eames had frozen for half a second before he’d groaned. He’d tried to cup Arthur’s neck and gentle the embrace, but Arthur’s nerves were too frayed. He didn’t _want_ gentle and he made it plan with a shove to Eames shoulders and a bite to his mouth.

Eames had stilled for a second time before his hands had changed from hesitantly soft to firm and rough. It was _just_ what he needed.

They had been dancing around the sexual tension between them for years and _finally_ they were going to do something about it. 

Of course, at the time, Arthur hadn’t been thinking about more than frustration and _need_ – hardly noticed Eames’ small tells, small hints at something before it was expertly hidden - but it was afterwards, after he had climbed off the bed and showered. When he was stepping back into the room in his clothes, feeling the satisfying ache in his muscles and stings of the teeth and nail marks on his skin that he found the room empty.

He felt a small sting of regret, but he was nothing if not practical. They could hardly spend the evening in the hotel room after such a messy job. They’d need to scatter if they didn’t want to be caught.

The regret became stronger when he noticed his tie was missing and there was a note on the bed.

_Don’t worry, darling. I’ll pretend it never happened._

It was only when he was reading the note for the third time that Arthur realised Eames had assumed many things accurately (that he’d needed to blow off steam after a shit job, that he wouldn’t want this to affect future jobs or become public knowledge among their colleagues) but he was misreading other things too (that Arthur regretted it, that he didn’t want Eames to stay no matter how unwise it was, that Arthur wouldn’t be willing to repeat it in the future and that he wouldn’t mind Eames’ more gentle touches if he was in the right frame of mind.)

But Arthur couldn’t admit any of those things with Eames having already cleared out of his hotel room. And, by the next time they saw each other it was eight months later on a new job and anything Arthur could have said was too far after the fact.

The job went seamlessly and Eames disappeared before Arthur could even attempt to visit him. A few weeks later, Mal started forgetting reality and Arthur didn’t see Eames for over a year as he trailed after Cobb and tried to hold the man together.

Then there was Inception and Eames’ barbs had become unexpectedly sharper. He picked at Arthur over every little thing and Arthur responded in kind. When the job turned into a disaster it was almost inevitable. It was almost a _shock_ when they succeeded and left Fischer’s subconscious with their mind’s intact and the impossible achieved.

They’d done inception. It left Arthur with a buzz under his skin. The job had been a disaster but unlike the one over a year and a half ago, this one didn’t find him needing to work through his frustration. _He_ did still want sex and with Eames specifically, but he didn’t feel a need to push, shove and claw his way to orgasm.

Right now, he could handle a few gentle touches, if Eames was still offering them.

When he knocked on the door to Eames’ hotel suite, the man didn’t look surprised to see him. His gaze was guarded and his mouth a thin line.

He let Arthur in without a word. Arthur still had restless energy burning through his veins, but it was tempered enough that he wasn’t about to push into Eames space and kiss him so bluntly. It left them standing in the hallway simply looking at each other. Eames broke the silence. 

“Well, that job was a right cock-up.” 

Arthur raised his eyebrow and a wry smile touched his lip. _No shit_ , his expression said. It made some of the blankness in Eames’ eyes retreat for amusement.

“Surprised you didn’t see it coming from the start, Arthur.”

It was a small jab, but Arthur blinked, the only show of his shock as the pieces fell into place. Eames had been expecting disaster from the start. He’d been needling Arthur throughout the job to lock Arthur’s attention on _him_. Because, the last time a job had turned into a shitshow, Arthur had shown up at his door looking for a fuck.

Eames had taken advantage of the situation and done his best to leave a trail of breadcrumbs right to his door. 

“Did you spend the whole job annoying me on _purpose?_ ”

Eames didn’t even have the grace to look guilty at being caught out. He was watching Arthur with a steady, unwavering gaze.

“One takes their chances where they find them, Arthur.”

Arthur’s lips parted, but whatever he might have said, Eames closed the distance and pressed their lips together. It was a reversal of their last time in a hotel room together. Only, this kiss didn’t last. Eames broke away when Arthur didn’t respond or move his arms to pull Eames closer.

“Don’t fret, pet,” Eames murmured, his lips trailing along Arthur’s jaw in a single, soft touch. “I shan’t forget what you came here for.”

As if to prove his point, Eames gripped Arthur’s upper arms and slammed him roughly against the wall. Arthur gasped before Eames was covering his mouth and kissing him roughly. Arthur couldn’t help his groan. His hands came to Eames’ hair on instinct as he kissed the man back.

Yet, despite his body’s initial and enthusiastic reaction, Eames’ words still laid heavy in the air between them. It circled through his mind and found him ripping his mouth from Eames’. He turned his face to the side and Eames’ lips found his neck. Arthur’s eyelids fluttered but he moved his grip to Eames’ shoulders, trying to push him back.

“Eames,” he protested. “ _Stop_.”

The command in his tone made Eames still before groaning. He rested his forehead against Arthur’s shoulder.

“Damn it, Arthur,” he muttered. “I didn’t put up with this whole sodding job just to have you stop us _now_.”

“Eames,” Arthur said, tilting his head to look at the forger. He was curled around Arthur’s body in a way that made Arthur feel warm in places he didn’t expect. “You could have told me you didn’t want to fuck me.”

Eames pulled back, looking at him with complete incredulity.

“Arthur, how could you _possibly_ believe I did not want to do that?”

“You don’t want to sleep with me _like this_ ,” Arthur emphasised.

Eames swallowed. They were now on the same page. Eames’ gaze had shuttered, but to his credit, he didn’t look away.

“Well, darling, as I mentioned. One takes one’s chances where they get them.” He gave a one-shouldered shrug, his voice and face were too casual to be genuine. “It should hardly be a bother. I’m rather good at hiding what people don’t want to see.” Eames almost smiled. He brought a hand to Arthur’s face and thumbed his bottom lip. “ _You_ want to sleep with me like this. _I_ merely want to sleep with you. So, forget the rest tonight.” He stroked down Arthur’s neck and leant close. “And in the morning, I’ll make sure to be long gone.”

“Or you could stay.”

The words slipped free before Arthur could think them through. But he didn’t regret them. Eames’ eyebrows rose. He didn’t look like he believed Arthur. His next words only confirmed it.

“I do not believe you understand the consequences of that suggestion, Arthur.”

Arthur smiled. It started small, but when Eames’ gaze jumped to his lips, he let it spread wider. He enjoyed the surprise and _fondness_ the entered Eames’ expression as he let his dimples show.

“You know,” Arthur said, relaxing a bit more against the wall. “That last job, I _was_ looking for a way to blow off steam. I was annoyed and I knew you’d be receptive. I didn’t want gentle, I wanted someone who would help me release the excess energy.”

Eames nodded as if he knew all of that. He probably did.

“I knew we couldn’t stay any longer in that suite,” Arthur continued. “But, if that hadn’t been the case, I would have ordered room service and sucked your cock while we waited for it to arrive.”

Arthur found _far_ too much satisfaction and glee from how wide and shocked Eames’ expression became.

“I’m not _prone_ to gentle sex,” Arthur continued. “Usually, because I’m having quick flings where I don’t know or trust the person to allow them that kind of familiarity.”

Eames caught on and his eyes brightened with so much delight that Arthur wanted to squirm.

“Why, Arthur,” Eames said. “That sounded down right _romantic_.”

Arthur snorted. He would have rolled his eyes too, but Eames was crowding into his space and kissing him again. This time, his hands came up to cradle Arthur’s head gently. His lips were soft, almost hesitant, but Arthur welcomed every one of his touches. 

He wasn’t someone who made flowery declarations of love. He couldn’t even say he _felt_ love for Eames. But he certainly felt something beyond a simple camaraderie and attraction. Eames seemed to understand everything he _wasn’t_ saying. His every touch screamed of happiness and wonder as he ran his hands covetously over Arthur’s arms and chest.

Slipping his arms around Eames’ waist, Arthur was glad the Fischer job had turned into such a shitshow. But he was even _happier_ that it hadn’t been so bad that they’d need to disappear first thing the next morning.

He liked the idea of spending a few days – maybe even a few weeks - with Eames. It had been a long time since he’d had a regular lover and even longer since he’d opened himself up to the prospect of developing _more_ with someone.

It amused him to realise, he couldn’t imagine starting it any way but like this. Nor could he imagine doing it with anyone but Eames. The one person who, despite their lives and career choices, he not only respected and was attracted to but _trusted_.


End file.
